Empirical Evaluation of Deep Learning Approaches for Landmark Detection in Fish Bioimages

In this paper we perform an empirical evaluation of variants of deep learning methods to automatically localize anatomical landmarks in bioimages of fishes acquired using different imaging modalities (microscopy and radiography). We compare two methodologies namely heatmap based regression and multivariate direct regression, and evaluate them in combination with several Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures. Heatmap based regression approaches employ Gaussian or Exponential heatmap generation functions combined with CNNs to output the heatmaps corresponding to landmark locations whereas direct regression approaches output directly the (x, y) coordinates corresponding to landmark locations. In our experiments, we use two microscopy datasets of Zebrafish and Medaka fish and one radiography dataset of gilthead Seabream. On our three datasets, the heatmap approach with Exponential function and U-Net architecture performs better. Datasets and open-source code for training and prediction are made available to ease future landmark detection research and bioimaging applications

Syrah tropical red wine and residue health benefits according to in vitro and in vivo analysis using Wistar rats.

The objective of this study was to determine the antioxidant activity of Syrah red wines produced at the São Francisco Valley region and its residue, using in vitro approaches and evaluate the potential beneficial effects of their consumption on biochemical and hematological parameters in Wistar rats

Efeitos in vivo e in vitro de polifenóis presentes em vinhos tintos do Vale do São Francisco.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o conteúdo de compostos fenólicos e atividade antioxidante in vitro de vinhos tintos e efeitos in vivo induzidos pelo liofilizado livre de álcool de três vinhos tintos comerciais da região do Vale do São Francisco: Almadén® (Syrah, safra 2011), Château Duccos® (Syrah, safra 2010) e Rio Sol® (Syrah, safra 2011). A quantificação dos níveis de polifenóis totais foi realizada por método espectrofotométrico e o reagente de Folin-Ciocalteau e a atividade antioxidante pelo método DPPH. Para os testes in vivo, os animais foram tratados por gavagem durante trinta dias com o liofilizado livre de álcool dos vinhos estudados. A avaliação de parâmetros bioquímicos (glicose, colesterol total e frações) do plasma dos animais foi realizada através de kits bioquímicos e medida por espectrofotometria. Nos testes in vitro o vinho Rio Sol® apresentou maior teor de fenólicos totais e maior percentagem de atividade antioxidante. Na abordagem in vivo, o grupo tratado com o vinho Almadén® apresentou níveis plasmáticos de triglicerídeos e da fração de VLDLcolesterol menores quando comparados ao grupo controle; os grupos tratados com os vinhos tintos Almadén®, Château Duccos® e Rio Sol® apresentaram níveis plasmáticos menores de colesterol total quando comparados ao grupo controle. Assim, os vinhos utilizados no presente estudo demonstraram atividade antioxidante in vitro e benefícios para a saúde dos animais nos testes in vivo

Search for light resonances decaying to boosted quark pairs and produced in association with a photon or a jet in proton–proton collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This Letter presents a search for new light resonances decaying to pairs of quarks and produced in association with a high-pT photon or jet. The dataset consists of proton–proton collisions with an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=13TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Resonance candidates are identified as massive large-radius jets with substructure consistent with a particle decaying into a quark pair. The mass spectrum of the candidates is examined for local excesses above background. No evidence of a new resonance is observed in the data, which are used to exclude the production of a lepto-phobic axial-vector Z boson

Mercati e nuove tecnologie: siamo fuori dal tunnel?

Il testo è dedicato alle prospettive di impiego delle tecnologie dell'informazione e delle comunicazioni per le imprese e il sistema produttivo italiano. La tesi di base è che l'eccellenza organizzativa è un requisito cruciale per impeghi di successo delle IC

L’impresa veneta: finanza,internazionalizzazione e crescita,

La ricerca esamina e approfondisce i conti economici e le situazioni patrimoniali riferiti al 2004 di circa 10.000 piccole e medie aziende, quindi inserite nelle fasce tra 2 e 10 milioni di euro di giro d’affari e tra 10 e 50 milioni. A questa analisi è stata affiancata nello stesso tempo un’indagine empirica, svolta attraverso interviste a un centinaio di giovani imprenditori attivi nel Veneto. L’obiettivo di fondo è interrogarci sulla consistenza del tessuto imprenditoriale e sul suo possibile sviluppo futuro, con particolare attenzione alle dimensioni delle aziende e alla capacità del sistema di integrarsi e di affrontare la competizione internazionale sia valorizzando gli asset storici che proponendo nuovi modelli in grado di far crescere le nostre imprese

The effects of stocking densities versus tank volume on the skeleton of gilthead seabream Sparus aurata in the hatchery and preongrowing phases of the production cycle

INTRODUCTION: Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) production is one of the main aquaculture industries in the Mediterranean, producing 258,754 tones of seafood in 2019 (FAO, 2021). However, in recent years uncertainty regarding the profitability and the economic losses have been inevitable for many production facilities due to rapid market expansion in the 1980s followed by an oversupply establishing a lower market value in the last two decades (Llorente et al., 2020). Therefore, a focus on increasing the production value rather than increasing production quantity would be a sustainable solution to improve profitability and adjust for long-term environmental and economic goals in the EU (Llorente et al., 2020). The coupled application of Large Volumes (O/ =30-60m3) and low densities (< 16 larvae/L) has been demonstrated (Koumoundourous et al., 2004; Boglione et al., 2009; Prestinicola et al., 2013) augment the survival rate and the morphological quality of gilthead sea bream and other Sparids. However, the separate effects of density or volume, decoupled from each other has not been investigated. This knowledge will help farmers to produce subadults of higher quality to be ongrown by modulating only one of these two factors, without any need for extra economic investment, hightech solutions, or new tanks. The aim of this study was to individuate which between ‘large volume’ and ‘low density’ is the main driver in attaining high quality gilthead sea bream during both the hatchery (from eggs to juveniles) and the preongrowing (Waverage up to ~55 g). The experimental design envisaged to test the effects at a commercial scale of A) larger and smaller tank volumes on seabream, stocked at the same density; and B) higher and lower stocking densities on seabream maintained in the same tank volume. The experimented tank volumes were smaller, and the densities higher than those tested in previous studies. The choice of the experimental tank volumes (500 vs 1000 L) was based on the ubiquity of these tanks in almost every Mediterranean farm. The densities we utilized were those indicated as interesting to be tested by API (Italian Association of Fish farmers). MATERIALS & METHOD: Experimental rearing were conducted in the EcoAqua facilities at the University of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria (Spain) for the hatchery phase and at the Intituto Portugues do Mar e Atmosfera facilities in Olhão Portugal for the preongrowing phase. 3 different densities (Low Density (LD): 25 eggs/L and 5kg/m3; Medium Density (MD): 125 eggs/L and 10kg/ m3; High Density (HD): 250 eggs/L and 20kg/m3) were utilized for the hatchery and ongrowing phases respectively. Two tank volumes were tested for each density condition, in all the trials: 500L tanks (small volume) and 1000L tanks (large volume). Natural seawater was pumped into the systems and all of the rearing parameters were maintained the same for all of the conditions, save the volume or the density. Additionally, oxygen was maintained at above 70% SAT for both trials. Seabream were reared for approximately 2 months in each trial. Juveniles from the hatchery phase were whole-mount stained with Alizarin red while the sub-adults from the preongrowing cycle were radiographed. Monitoring of skeletal anomalies was done for both studies using an adapted alphanumeric code to account for skeletal elements affected and region of body in which the anomaly was located Prestinicola et al. (2013). Data was expressed in a raw matrix in order to calculate the frequencies of anomaly types found over the total amount of anomalies and a binary matrix to calculate the frequencies of individuals affected by every anomaly types. All statistical analyses and graphs were done using Python and Past 4.02 (Hammer et al., 2001). RESULTS: Strikingly the environmental parameters of varying degrees in density and volume elicited similar responses in both early juveniles and subadults. Both experimental cycles enhanced significant greater lengths, reduced opercular, jaw, and vertebral axis anomalies in LD reared seabream, while larger volumes reduced the incidence of jaw anomalies. This outcome highlights the predominant effect of environmental drivers on skeletal plasticity in this species, regardless of notable differences in genetic origin, life-stage, and ontogenetic phases (Fig. 1). The possible hypotheses (behavioral, chemo-physical, physiological, etc…) that can be formulated to explain this primary, more positive effect of low stocking density rather than the larger tank volume, are largely discussed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 766347, BioMedAqu, ETN 766347

Effects of shifting perspective of the self: An fMRI study

When looking to our reflection, or moving a video-game character, we see our own movement preformed by an agent which is physically separated from our body. Yet, we consider the agent to be ourself. Using fMRI, we sought to explore the neural underpinnings of disembodiment, the cognitive mechanism under which the properties of the self are projected away from the boundaries of one's own body towards an external entity. Seventeen participants watched a video-game in which three players threw each other a ball. Subjects' key-press could either be synchronous or asynchronous with one of the players' action (TASK: Agency vs. Control). The game was shown from one of four viewpoints which could either be fixed or change every trial (VIEWS: Fixed vs. Changeable). Consistent with previous studies, the left insula was activated when the agent's movements were synchronous with those of the participants (main effect of TASK, p<0.05, SVC). The analysis of the interaction TASKVIEWS revealed activation (p<0.05, corrected) of the right parieto-temporal-occipital (PTO) junction when the agent whose movements were synchronous to the participants was processed in a spatial position each time different with respect to the preceding trials. Our findings implicate the right PTO junction in assigning one's own movements to an agent which is physically independent of oneself. They also suggest that the ability to disembody, and thereby objectify, bodily or mental states concerning the self is common to all experimental paradigms which led to an activation of the PTO junction